From a refugee camp during Partition to a festering blister on the face of Thane district, Ulhasnagar is the worst example of how civic neglect, incestuous politics, disease and corruption have turned the township into a settlement barely fit for human habitation.

Following a public interest petition filed in the Bombay High Court by a group of anxious citizens and a series of reports by Express Newsline, the state government on March 4, 1999, asked the then principal secretary with the Urban Development Department (now Principal secretary, Revenue Department), Nand Lal, to find out what has made Ulhasnagar the cesspool that it is.

The report, submitted to Chief Minister Narayan Rane on July 3, points an accusing finger at corporators, civic officials and the all-pervasive builders' lobby, holding their robust nexus responsible for the phenomenal growth of unauthorised constructions and encroachments that characterise the township. The first of a two-part series.

Thereport prepared by Nand Lal names 31 sitting corporators and 14 civic officials who have actively connived with the builders' lobby and are therefore responsible for unauthorised constructions, which comprise 90 per cent of buildings in Ulhasnagar.

Examining illegal structures, encroachment on government land and reserved plots, the link between civic officials, corporators and builders and the serious financial crunch in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), the report states: ``Though the civic body acquired the status of a municipal corporation on October 21, 1996, there were several unauthorised constructions alreday there. Based on complaints received by the UMC and myself, 55 unauthorised constructions have been identified. Of these, 25 are actually owned by corporators themselves. All these buildings are being used for commercial and residential purposes. These structures must be demolished with immediate effect.''

Nand Lal, who was given four months to execute his brief, says ubiquituousillegal constructions have placed an unimaginable strain on the township's already minuscule infrastructure. ``Former presidents of the civic body, for instance, Pappu Kalani, later his wife Jyoti and other succeeding presidents used to charge builders Rs 30 per sq ft to protect the unauthorised structures. Builders used to apply for permission to repair even non-existing structures and then construct buildings. Officials would then issue notices under Sections 53 and 54 of Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, to demolish these structures.

``Corporators would then advise the builders to file civic suits against the corporation. Once the court stayed execution of the notices, the builders would complete their construction and sell them in the open market. The officials would never make any attempt to vacate the stay nor would the corporators raise their voice,'' the report says.

To buttress his findings, Nand Lal has appended a list of 68 such civil suits rejected by various courts but the UMC has notinitiated any action against the structures yet. This, the report states, gives the builders time to move yet another court and secure a stay on execution of the demolition notice.

Nand Lal says plots reserved by the UMC for public amenities have simply vanished amid the congested, concrete buildings in the township. He says 91 per cent of these plots have been encroached upon by the builder lobby.

``There are 158 reserved/government plots in Ulhasnagar. Builders, in connivance with corporators and officials, have encroached on 140 of them to construct commercial as well as residential complexes. These plots were reserved for public lavatories, schools and voluntary organisations, etc. Because of the encroachments, public health is in extreme danger and pollution is on the rise. If no action is initiated, the situation in Ulhasnagar will definitely spin out of control,'' according to his report.

The 31 sitting corporators named in the report as conniving with builders

Rajendrasingh Bhullar,Jyoti Kalani, Banvarilal Dhedwal, R R Sonavane, Pramod Yale, Rambhau Adhav, Late Baburam Bagade, Sevamal Thakur, Sohan Teji, Dhananjay Bondare, Rajendra Chaudhari, Pandurang Bodke, Bhavji More, Sunita Rajwani, Pandharinath Navringe, Jamnadas Parswami, Giridhari Wadhwa, Malti Karosima, Suresh Jadhav, Bhimsen More, Ramesh Chavan, Jaya Sadhvani, Narendra Rajani, Indira Bathija, Poonam Baringe, Hardas Makhija, Mohandas Ramswami, Giridharilal Sachdev, Manohar Jeswani, K D Punjabi, Kishor Keswani.

Civic officials named in the report as shielding irregularities in connivance with corporators

B G Tumde, S J Sathe, Y B Gangurde, Anil Lad, V D Salvi, D B Vanmali, N A Nagrale, U K Ramsinghani, Anil Jaisinghani, V D Gosavi, R T Kalvani, Vijay Malkani, Mahesh Sitlani, Ashwinikumar Ahuja.

Encroachments on government/reserved plots

Vacant -- 6

Developed -- 12

Encroached -- 140

Total -- 158.